# BikeTheRail (remote · biketherail.org)

Look up U.S. rail-trails: search, nearby trails, trail facts, trailheads and closures.

- Trust score: 72/100 (medium)
- Change this week: +4
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `biketherail.org`: 72/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://biketherail.org/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.0.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Endpoint Security**: 63/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - No authorisation is required to call this server. Every tool declares its destructiveHint and none is destructive, so open access doesn't expose one.
  - HTTPS enforcement could not be verified: the plaintext port answered with HTTP 405, which proves neither a plaintext path nor enforcement.
  - HSTS check failed: the Strict-Transport-Security header is absent.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 66/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (good).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 801 tokens (~200/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 47/100
  - Stability observed for 14 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 4 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 5 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28).

## Install

### How do I install the BikeTheRail MCP server?

BikeTheRail is a hosted endpoint at https://biketherail.org/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http org-biketherail-trails 'https://biketherail.org/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "org-biketherail-trails": {
      "url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "org-biketherail-trails": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.org-biketherail-trails]
url = "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "org-biketherail-trails": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add org-biketherail-trails --url 'https://biketherail.org/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  org-biketherail-trails:
    url: "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "org-biketherail-trails": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add org-biketherail-trails -t streamable-http -u 'https://biketherail.org/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "org-biketherail-trails": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://biketherail.org/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-05 (score 72, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 43 to 47. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 13 days of observed history at the previous scan, 14 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-03 (score 71, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 37 to 40. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 11 days of observed history at the previous scan, 12 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-01 (score 70, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 30 to 33. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 9 days of observed history at the previous scan, 10 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-30 (score 69, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 23 to 27. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 7 days of observed history at the previous scan, 8 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-28 (score 68, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 17 to 20. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 5 days of observed history at the previous scan, 6 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-26 (score 67, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 10 to 13. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 3 days of observed history at the previous scan, 4 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-23 (score 66, +1)

- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.03

### 2026-10-22 (score 65)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (4)

### `search_trails` (~234 tokens)

Search trails

Find U.S. rail-trails, canal towpaths and greenways by name, state, surface, kind and length. Returns each trail's page URL and slug (for get_trail). With no query, lists the longest trails that match the filters.

Input parameters:

- `kind` (string): rail: on a former railway; trolley: an old streetcar or interurban line; canal_towpath: beside a canal; greenway: a car-free path not on a railbed.
- `limit` (integer): How many trails to return (1-50).
- `max_miles` (number): Longest length, in miles.
- `min_miles` (number): Shortest length, in miles.
- `query` (string): Words from the trail's name, for example "Great Allegheny Passage" or "Virginia Creeper". Small typos are tolerated.
- `state` (string): Two-letter state code (PA) or state name. Matches every trail that enters the state.
- `surface` (string): Trail surface. crushed_stone is packed stone dust, good for most bikes.

### `get_trail` (~105 tokens)

Get a trail

One trail's facts (length, surface, states, managing organization, official website, year opened), trailheads with parking, restrooms and water, any current closure, the opening of its "About this trail" article, its numbered sources and its page URL. Takes the slug from search_trails or trails_near.

Input parameters:

- `slug` (string, required): The trail's slug, for example "great-allegheny-passage". Its page URL or exact name also work.

### `trails_near` (~197 tokens)

Trails near a point

Trails within a radius of a latitude and longitude, nearest first, with the distance to the closest point of each trail. For a town or address, pass its coordinates. Optional filters as in search_trails.

Input parameters:

- `kind` (string): rail: on a former railway; trolley: an old streetcar or interurban line; canal_towpath: beside a canal; greenway: a car-free path not on a railbed.
- `lat` (number, required): Latitude in decimal degrees.
- `limit` (integer): How many trails to return (1-50).
- `lon` (number, required): Longitude in decimal degrees (negative in the United States).
- `min_miles` (number): Shortest trail length, in miles.
- `radius_miles` (number): Search radius in miles (up to 100).
- `surface` (string): Trail surface. crushed_stone is packed stone dust, good for most bikes.

### `list_closures` (~66 tokens)

List closures

Current trail closures and detours posted by trail managers and agencies, optionally for one state, with the source notice. Trails not listed have no reported closure.

Input parameters:

- `state` (string): Two-letter state code (PA) or state name. Matches every trail that enters the state.

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 72
- 2026-11-04: 71
- 2026-11-03: 71
- 2026-11-02: 70
- 2026-11-01: 70
- 2026-10-31: 69
- 2026-10-30: 69
- 2026-10-29: 68
- 2026-10-28: 68
- 2026-10-27: 67
- 2026-10-26: 67
- 2026-10-25: 66
- 2026-10-24: 66
- 2026-10-23: 66
- 2026-10-22: 65

## Common questions

### What is the BikeTheRail MCP server?

BikeTheRail is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as org.biketherail/trails. Look up U.S. rail-trails: search, nearby trails, trail facts, trailheads and closures. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://biketherail.org/mcp).

### Is the BikeTheRail MCP server safe to use?

BikeTheRail scores 72 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the BikeTheRail MCP server expose?

BikeTheRail exposes 4 tools: search_trails, get_trail, trails_near, list_closures. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 602 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the BikeTheRail MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to BikeTheRail without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the BikeTheRail MCP server still maintained?

BikeTheRail is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://biketherail.org/mcp
- Website: https://biketherail.org/
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/org-biketherail-trails/biketherail